Posco builds major battery cathode plant in South Korea

South Korean battery manufacturer Posco Chemical has finished building what it describes as the world's largest single production facility for battery cathodes in Gwangyang city.

The plant in the country's south Jeolla province will focus on production of high-nickel cathodes used in electric vehicles (EV), including nickel-cobalt-manganese-aluminium (NCMA) and nickel-cobalt-manganese (NCM) cathodes.

Production is expected to ramp up from 30,000 t/yr to its designed capacity of 90,000 t/yr to become the largest capacity globally for a single cathode material plant, Posco said without giving any timelines.

The capacity will be sufficient to supply batteries for 1mn high-performance EVs.

Initial production commenced in 2018 with a capacity of 5,000 t/yr. The plant has been developed into a smart factory that can produce high-quality cathodes faster and more efficiently over the past four years, resulting in its higher production capacity.

Posco plans to broaden the range of cathode chemistries at the plant in the longer term, including high-nickel single particle cathodes, NCA cathodes and cathodes for energy storage systems (ESS).

Argus last assessed prices for NCM811 cathode active material (CAM) on 15 November at $103.42/kWh, up by around 4.3pc from $99.20/kWh on 8 November. The range for NCM622 CAM was assessed on 15 November at $99.61/kWh, up by 4.2pc from $95.57/kWh on 8 November.

By ZhiChao Zhang